Friday, September 30, 2016

Brad Marchand celebrates a career making kind of goalas he secures a World Cup victory for Team Canada
(photo from World Cup of hockey website)

Such was the relief at Team Canada's come from behind victory to win the World Cup on Thursday night that even fans living in British Columbia, still with memories of a Boston Bruin tandem that dashed their Stanley Cup dreams clear in their minds as a bright Pacific sky, probably stood up and cheered.

On Thursday evening, what was shaping up as a rather disastrous night for the Canadians was turned around with mere seconds to go, as Brad Marchand hustling off the Canadian bench joined into the play to convert a Jonathon Toews pass which he quickly rifled behind Jaroslav Halak to secure the victory for Team Canada.

But let's back up a bit shall we, because for 57 minutes of the game it was most certainly Team Europe's victory to claim, they out-hustled the Canadians to the puck and Halak, as he had for the entire tournament put up a wall that was almost enough to send a seismic shock through Canadian hockey.

Playing with momentum off of a laser guided missile from Zdeno Chara, the European squad did what many teams from the continent have done for decades, make a one goal game an exercise in shut down hockey, with the Canadians frustrated at any number of times through almost sixty minutes of play.

The Europeans made sure that no room would be found to launch an offensive attack, the Canadians for their part uncharacteristically making a number of sloppy plays, passes that just missed, shots that went wide and periods of lethargic play that seemed to suck the atmosphere out of the Air Canada Centre and left folks at home occasionally checking in on baseball, the NFL or pre-season hockey.

Sure we checked back in from time to time to see if things were still looking sketchy, but the full attention of the nation (much like the players it seemed at times) appeared to be elsewhere.

The Europeans no doubt were deserving of one more game of the best of three series, such was their ability to neutralize the Canadian machine, yet the as the third period moved towards the midway point though, our attention became focused again as Team Canada looking increasingly desperate to turn around the play began to pressure the European squad in ways that they hadn't through the previous fifty minutes.

First there was the equalizer as Patrice Bergeron finished off a Sidney Crosby/Brent Burns play at the seventeen minute mark to give a jump to the Canadians, putting the first doubt of the game for the Europeans at the worst possible time.

The push down the stretch didn't come without some tension, Drew Doughty took a high sticking penalty with two minutes left in the third, leaving the Canadians short handed and looking to just survive the period and take Game Two into an Overtime.

Their penalty killing proved inspiring, aided by one lucky bounce off a post and a spectacular game saving stop by Carey Price who had been providing much of the same for much of the game.

And then game the time for the Magic of Marchand, as he hopped off the bench on a change on the fly, found himself in the right spot to take a Jonathan Toews pass and with a quick shot the World Cup was Canada's.

The winning goal by Brad Marchand capped his tournament appearance, making whichever member of the Team Canada selection team that lobbied for him to be included on the roster look like an Oracle of the puck.

The wisdom of that selection having been rewarded time and time again through the tournament, the fact that the clinching goal came off of the Nova Scotian's stick was a true reward to the concept of the work ethic and always being ready to accept the call to duty.

There have been many significant moments in Canadian hockey since the legendary magic of 1972 when Paul Henderson brought relief to the huddled masses gathered around a television set watching the flickering images from Moscow.

A goal for the ages that has been joined by a few other Heritage moments over the decades since.

And while we suspect that in the litany of historic goals for Canadian hockey, the Marchand marker won't be quite remembered in the same conversations as those of Henderson, Gretzky to Lemieux or Iginla to Crosby.

On September 29th of 2016, Brad Marchand's late game heroics resonated for Canadian hockey fans from coast to coast to coast, and even in Vancouver, where the name Marchand was once etched into the deepest corners where the nightmares of the Pacific coast hockey fan live, a glass or two of craft beer was no doubt raised as Team Canada celebrated their lucky talisman and claimed another international title.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

For a Final round of a highly promoted tournament, Game one of what could be, but really shouldn't be a Best of Three provided for few moments of inspiration, or as the lacklustre crowd at the Air Canada Centre who at times could work up to a good yawn, would show for few moments of excitement.

Whether it was just the fact that the tournament had entered a new week, or the thrill of the pressure packed elimination games had come to an end, the first puck drop for the finals provided an underwhelming display of the game, with the Canadian side for the most part the main culprits when it came to lethargic and sloppy play, making life miserable for their own goaltender as they went along.

The Europeans who rumbled through the tournament knocking off favourites as they did, put up a good effort, testing the Canadians Carey Price frequently, thirty three times as a matter of fact, something that should indicate the lack of attention that his defensive corps provided to the night.

As was expected, Team Europe played a more clinical game, cycling the puck, trying to slow the game down (rather successfully most will note) while taking advantage of a number of turnovers that the Canadians offered, a surprising trait that wasn't part of the Canadian game plan for most of this tournament.

Defensively the Europeans had high hopes of concentrating on shutting down Team Canada's top line of Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, something that others attempted and failed at and once again didn't happen on Tuesday night.

That top offensive combo provided for two of Canada's three goals and six points on the scoresheet for the night, the first marker opening the game at 2:33 of the first, the second closing it down for good at the 9 and half point of period number three.

Canada's other marker on the night was a Steven Stamkos shot, which converted a Ryan Getzlaf pass for a 2-0 lead heading into the first.

The full Canadian lull came in the second period as the Europeans briefly found some incentive on a Tomas Tatar goal at the seven minute mark and while they would have a number of other chances, nothing else would get by Price in the Canadian nets.

For much of the game the Canadians play suggested that they were weary of the tournament and that the end can't come fast enough.

And while the Europeans are saying all the right things for motivation purposes, that of playing the Canadians tough in game one, showing disappointment at letting a chance for a win get away, even they probably have the feeling that they won't be hanging around for a Game Three.

After a couple of weeks of some high tempo hockey and emotional play, the first instalment of the Final was not the kind of game that suggested drama was at hand, in fact you know that you're in trouble when the Zamboni becomes the main attraction for the night, going in circles over and over again, which come to think of it, was a similar style that many on Team Canada seemed to be bringing to the game for long stretches when the ice was resurfaced.

Wednesday is an off day for the two teams, a chance to refocus and review how they played in Game One and what they need to change for the next one, for Canadian fans the hope will be that Team Canada brings a bit more immediacy to the rink.

The fact that they won with a sub par effort is probably a testimony to the fact that even on a bad day they are still the Best of the Show, but the time is at hand to bring the World Cup of Hockey to an end.

Thursday should bring the curtain down for the 2016 edition, leaving hockey fans to prepare to turn their attention to training camps and who will be in the opening night lineups of mid October.

It's been a fun run for the European squad that has probably provided tournament organizers with more than a few things to give some thought towards as they ponder the tournament make up in years to come ....

But for Team Canada, Thursday should be Closing Time!

It's time to put the bar stools up and turn off the Big Screen TV's, better for Canada turn them off with one more win, before the folks at home turn them off themselves over a lack of interest.

The pace of Tuesday's game did not go un-noticed by the media covering Game One from the Air Canada Centre, you can review some of their thoughts from our Game Day Archive.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

The ensemble cast of hockey's version of Les Miserables made things rather miserable for Swedes everywhere on Sunday, as momentum, that of a skate blade to be precise, told the tale for whether Team Europe, or Team Sweden would move on in the second semi-final of the World Cup of Hockey.

All of whom pulled on the rather colourful uniform of Team Europe and took to the ice without the benefit of even a national anthem (though in a pinch they possibly could have pulled out the EU's Ode to Joy which seems to be the defacto song of unity for those inclined to such a concept in Europe)

Regardless if they had a song to sing along with or not, all seemed to gel quite nicely under coach Ralph Krueger, who no doubt channelled that always popular theme of "No one respects us, and no one expects us" something clearly heard by his roster of new believers.

That approach worked well through the opening round and on Sunday in the second semi-final of the weekend, the European squad would once again surprise the hockey pundits, as they and Team Sweden settled in for what at times resembled a sixty minute drills session, occasionally broken up with some bursts of speed and yes, even a hit or two.

It wasn't a thriller by any means, that despite the fact it went to an Overtime before the Euro's found their winning goal off of the skate of Tomas Tatar, the bulk of the three periods was for the most part a stifling affair of lock down hockey. Ye there was some nice passing and shots were fired on goal here and there, and while plentiful at 39 to 31 in favour of the Swedes, you never really had the feeling that suggested a high scoring match was on the horizon.

The first period was played to a 0-0 draw and for good cause, few chances were taken, few mistakes were there to be capitalized on, as the two sides took to lengthy glides on the ice as drawn up on the dressing room board we imagine.

Period two did find some scoring as each team traded goals the Swedes making their case for another Canada/Sweden final with Nicklas Backstrom's goal in the first three minutes, the Europeans going not so fast when Marian Gaborik grabbed the equalizer late in the middle frame.

Tomas Tatar served notice that Sweden might not be fulfilling its destiny when he picked up his first of two goals on the day at the twelve second mark of the final period, Team Sweden would not claw their way back into a tie until fifteen minutes later when Erik Karlsson gave hope to the Blue and Gold combining with the Sedins for a nice passing play to even things up.

Neither side could find the range in the final four and half minutes setting the stage for the Overtime drama which would not take long to play out, with Tatar once again the featured attraction parked at the side of the Swedish net, directing the puck with his skate by Henrik Lundqvist setting off celebrations from uh, ah, well ... they were pretty happy on the Team Europe bench at least.

The Swedes looked sufficiently stunned at the outcome, wondering if the goal was valid or not, though in the end it was ruled a good goal and the celebration for Team Europe was on.

And while Sweden may have been shocked, they probably were nowhere near as baffled as World Cup organizers.

They now have a team that was tossed together as a way to showcase the constellation of non hockey power nations (Team Leftovers as some would call them) ready to challenge for the top honours. Something we are pretty sure they didn't anticipate back when they cooked up the World Cup Concept earlier this year.

The European squad now moves on to the Semi-Finals on Tuesday and the first of what could be a three game showdown with Team Canada.

And while most probably believe that the Canadians will be on a fast track to claiming the top spot for 2016, a few bounces of a puck and the continued hot hand of Jaroslav Halak could make things interesting.

If the Europeans really want to really put a scare into Canadian hockey fans from game one on, we offer up an alternative option for the anthem prior to each game.

Same tune; different interpretation.

If nothing else, it probably would make for the perfect dressing room sound mix to get some European blood pumping prior to face off.

And should Team Europe pull off a World Cup Hockey championship, it will definitely become the talking point for the two weeks of hockey that have played out and none of us will ever look at Ode to Joy in the same light again.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Russian net minder Sergei Bobrovsky is going to be reporting to his Columbus Blue Jackets training camp in a few days and the first thing he'll probably do is take a deep sigh of relief at the prospect of having some help from the blue line for a change from his last week or so.

The signs were building for much of the week that the Russians were a little thin on the blue line but perhaps Bobrovsky should have been prepared for Saturday night's defensive shortcomings when he cracked open the fortune cookies for a glimpse on the game to come.

Bobrovsky did all he could to stem off such omens for Mother Russia on Saturday night, making for the main difference between at least keeping things respectable, as opposed to suffering a humiliation on the ice as he held off a high octane Canadian lineup.

A squad that while scoring five goals over the course of the three periods, probably left the ice following their semi-final victory wondering how with 47 shots on goal, they didn't get even more behind the Russian goal line.

The Russian defence was horrendous in their showdown with the Canadians, allowing the home side into their zone time and time again, the concept of clearing the front of the net, or taking a man once and a while, seemingly forgotten once they jumped over the boards and onto the ice.

Offensively they weren't much more effective, while a second period lead at 2-1 provided for a temporary case of the vapours for Canadian fans, once Team Canada had returned the universe to its balance it quickly became clear that the Russian team, while gaining 34 shots on goal, didn't really seem all that dangerous or inclined to be making much of a push, that might give much further cause for distress for the Canadian side.

For Canada Brad Marchand continued to make for a fascinating story line for the tournament, his play a major difference maker for the Canadians, adding to his reviews on the week by snaring two goals that proved to be quite instrumental in Canada's 5-3 victory over the Russians.

Both of which came as a result of some terrific work from Captain Sidney Crosby who got the puck over to Marchand on both occasions for the finishing touch.

Another strong night for Sidney Crosbyas he bested long time rivalAlexander Ovechkin in Saturday's semi-final

Of course Marchand has benefited from shared ice time with Sidney Crosby, who once again was no slouch on the ice himself, picking up a beauty of an opening goal as he forced a turnover in the Russian end to set the pace for Canada.

Besides his opener and the assists on the Marchand goal, Crosby continued to have a dominating presence on the ice, overshadowing Russia's Alexander Ovechkin who struggled to find any kind of offence on the night.

Russia's marquee player was slowed down rather effectively by Jonathon Toews and his line mates, frequently leaving the Russians frustrated for much of the sixty minutes as they became bogged down an incapable of moving the puck with any authority.

Russia did offer up some resistance and for a brief period in the second period had pulled ahead of the Canadian squad and appeared ready to set the scene for another Canada/Russia thriller, however Team Canada settled their play down shortly after that brief spurt.

Marchand's first goal of the night coming just one minute after the Russians took the lead, his second in the opening two minutes of the third returned a one goal margin for the Canadians and they never looked back.

Corey Perry picked up his first goal of the tournament less than five minutes later, the marker not only providing the cushion that gave Canadian fans an opportunity to breathe, but also appeared to finally knock down any Russian prospects of a push back.

John Tavares also grabbed his first goal of the World Cup salting away the victory at the 9 and half minute point of the third, the Canadians by that time in full control of the flow, dictating the play as they wished.

Russia made one more mark on the scoring sheet with less than ten seconds to go in the game, with an extra attacker on the ice Artemi Panarin was credited with the Russians third goal of the night, though replays suggest that it probably should not have counted, however with time close to expiration no challenge was issued, the Canadians content for the centre ice puck drop and the sound of the horn.

Canada moves on to the Finals set to begin on Tuesday evening, their opposition will be sorted out on Sunday afternoon as one of the pleasant surprises of the tournament Team Europe look to spoil any plans that the Swedes have of securing their place in the three game final.

For the Russians they will scatter to their various directions, the NHL based players to their training camps those in the European leagues or Russia's KHL will make their return overseas. And while they return to the ice, they will leave it to the officials back in Moscow to try and figure out why their development program suddenly no longer can deliver the likes of a Fetisov, Mironov, Zubov or Zhitnik.

Members of defensive units that once held a strong presence on a Russian blue line and gave hockey fans a totally different theme to consider when talking about Russian hockey.

You can find more on the Canada/Russia semi-final from our Game Day Archive page, which features game summaries and a collection of commentary and analysis of Saturday night's match up.

With the Las Vegas franchise beginning to lay its foundation for play in the 2017-18 season, we'll start to track their moves both in the front office and in the city itself as they prepare to introduce their team to the NHL collective.

With Vegas now officially in and the NHL looking to expand by two in the years to come, we'll also track other locations that are looking to find a crack in the door to join up with the league, either through the expansion process, or by standing by to take any wards of the NHL that may arrive from existing locations.